Maturity

Motivation for a day (True wealth, FAIL, Optimis, Masa)

Follow up 100x!

Sejak menyertai industri sawit sebagai cadet engineer Mac 2014, dalam masa 2 tahun 9 bulan saya dilantik menjadi incharge untuk kilang sawit berkapasiti 90 mt/hr dan memproses 350,000 mt ffb pada tahun 2007. Selain bertugas sebagai jurutera stim, saya mula meningkatkan skill pengurusan bermula tahun tersebut sehingga kini. Untuk rekod, saya telah menjadi pengurus sejak 9 tahun lepas dan telah menamatkan MBA pada tahun 2014.

Dalam semua pengalaman praktikal saya dan juga teori yang dipelajari, saya cukup terkesan dengan perkataan FOLLOW UP. Apa pun tugasan kita di sesebuah organisasi, follow up amat penting. Dalam teks, kita diingatkan dengan PDCA

PLAN
DO
CHECK
ACTION

Semua di atas cuma perlu lakukan sekali
PLAN, DO & ACTION

Namun, FOLLOW UP tidak cukup sekali, malah perlu lebih 100 kali atau 1000 kali !

Jika ada menjadi penyelia, mahupun jurutera, pengurus serta ceo sekali pun, FOLLOW UP amat penting. Jika ada cekap dalam FOLLOW UP, maka anda akan menjadi sangat efektif dan berjaya! Dalam apa jua yang anda lakukan.

Namun, jika ada lemah dalam FOLLOW UP, maka anda pegang jawatan apa pun, anda tidak akan berjaya!

Soalnya, apakah kaedah FOLLOW UP terbaik?
Sebenarnya tidak ada kaedah yang terbaik, yang paling penting adalah mencapai maksud atau tujuan sesebuah organsasi atau projek tersebut.

Gunakan segala kaedah yang ada.
Site visit.
Telefon.
Whatsapp.
Msg.
Mesyuarat.
Spot check.
Bertanya sumber lain seperti pekerja atau individu berkaitan.
Surat.
Email.

Yang paling utama adalah, proses tersebut MESTI DIULANG SEBANYAK 100 KALI ATAU 1000 KALI sehingga matlamat tercapai!

Ya kawan - kawan.
Jangan lupa FOLLOW UP!

Priority Matrix

1. Priority Matrix (Eisenhower Method / ABC Analysis)

Definition

The Priority Matrix is a time management tool used to prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. It divides tasks into four quadrants to help decide which ones need immediate attention and which should be postponed, delegated, or eliminated.

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Steps in Conducting the Analysis

1. List All Activities

   • Write down every task you need to do (big or small).

2. Assign Importance (Scale 1–5)

   • Rate how much each task contributes to your goals.

3. Evaluate Urgency

   • Decide how soon each task requires attention.

4. Plot on the Matrix

   • Place each task into one of the four quadrants:

     • Quadrant 1: Important & Urgent → Do immediately.

     • Quadrant 2: Important & Not Urgent → Plan & schedule.

     • Quadrant 3: Not Important & Urgent → Delegate or minimize.

     • Quadrant 4: Not Important & Not Urgent → Eliminate or reduce.

5. Act According to Strategy

   • Focus first on Quadrant 1, but invest heavily in Quadrant 2 to prevent crises.

   • Guard against time robbers in Quadrant 3.

   • Avoid time-wasters in Quadrant 4.

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Advantages (Five Key Points)

1. Simple and easy to use – intuitive for anyone to apply.

2. Helps focus on what really matters – prevents constant firefighting.

3. Improves productivity and performance – structured task handling.

4. Encourages proactive work (Quadrant 2) – reduces stress and crisis situations.

5. Promotes better work-life balance – keeps attention on important goals.

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Drawbacks (Five Key Points)

1. Subjective classification – tasks may be misjudged between urgent/important.

2. Time-consuming for beginners – requires discipline to apply consistently.

3. Doesn’t account for interdependencies – some tasks overlap between quadrants.

4. Over-simplification – not all tasks fit neatly into four categories.

5. May neglect creativity/innovation – excessive focus on urgency can suppress long-term exploration.

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Information Usually Sought

• Which tasks must be done immediately.

• Which tasks need scheduling and long-term attention.

• Which tasks can be delegated or minimized.

• Which tasks are wasting time and should be eliminated.

• How to shift tasks from Quadrant 1 (crisis mode) to Quadrant 2 (planning mode) for better results.

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2. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix

Definition

The BCG Matrix is a strategic portfolio management tool that helps companies allocate resources across their business units or products based on market growth rate (industry attractiveness) and relative market share (competitive strength).

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Steps in Conducting the Analysis

1. Identify Strategic Business Units (SBUs)

   • Break down company into products, services, or divisions.

2. Calculate Relative Market Share

   • Formula: SBU Sales this year ÷ Leading Competitor’s Sales this year.

3. Calculate Market Growth Rate

   • Formula: (Industry sales this year – Industry sales last year) ÷ Last year’s sales.

4. Plot on the Matrix (2 × 2 Grid)

   • X-axis: Relative Market Share (High vs. Low).

   • Y-axis: Market Growth Rate (High vs. Low).

5. Classify SBUs into Four Categories

   • Stars: High growth, high market share – require heavy investment.

   • Cash Cows: Low growth, high market share – generate steady cash flow.

   • Question Marks: High growth, low market share – require careful evaluation.

   • Dogs: Low growth, low market share – candidates for divestment.

6. Decide Resource Allocation

   • Invest in Stars and Question Marks with potential.

   • Use Cash Cows to fund growth.

   • Minimize or exit Dogs.

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Advantages (Five Key Points)

1. Simple and easy to understand – visual and intuitive.

2. Helps balance the portfolio – identifies cash generators vs. cash users.

3. Supports strategic decision-making – guides investment/divestment.

4. Future-oriented – links current business to long-term planning.

5. Encourages focus on growth opportunities – identifies where to expand.

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Drawbacks (Five Key Points)

1. Over-simplified – ignores medium categories (not just high/low).

2. Market definition issues – hard to set proper boundaries.

3. Market share ≠ Profitability – high share may still mean high costs.

4. Ignores other success factors – innovation, brand value, synergies not considered.

5. “Dogs” may still add value – sometimes support other businesses indirectly.

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Information Usually Sought

• Which SBUs/products are profitable cash generators (Cash Cows).

• Which SBUs/products need investment to grow (Stars, Question Marks).

• Which SBUs/products are draining resources (Dogs).

• How to balance short-term profits and long-term growth.

• Where to allocate capital, time, and management focus.

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✅ In short:

• Priority Matrix = time management & personal productivity.

• BCG Matrix = strategic business portfolio management.

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👍 Here’s a comparative summary table between the Priority Matrix (Eisenhower Method) and the BCG Matrix. This format is suitable for study notes, assignments, or presentations.

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Comparative Table: Priority Matrix vs. BCG Matrix

Aspect	Priority Matrix (Eisenhower Method)	BCG Matrix
Purpose	Helps individuals/managers prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance (time management).	Helps organizations allocate resources across business units/products based on market share and growth (portfolio management).
Focus Area	Task management & productivity.	Strategic business analysis & investment decisions.
Dimensions	1. Importance (High/Low) 2. Urgency (High/Low)	1. Market Growth Rate (High/Low) 2. Relative Market Share (High/Low)
Quadrants/Cells	Q1: Important & Urgent → Do immediately Q2: Important & Not Urgent → Plan & schedule Q3: Not Important & Urgent → Delegate/minimize Q4: Not Important & Not Urgent → Eliminate	Stars: High growth, high share Cash Cows: Low growth, high share Question Marks: High growth, low share Dogs: Low growth, low share
Steps in Conducting	1. List all tasks 2. Assign importance (scale 1–5) 3. Evaluate urgency 4. Plot tasks into quadrants 5. Act according to strategy	1. Identify SBUs/products 2. Calculate relative market share 3. Calculate market growth rate 4. Plot on 2×2 grid 5. Classify into 4 cells 6. Decide resource allocation
Advantages (5)	1. Simple & easy to use 2. Keeps focus on what matters 3. Improves productivity 4. Reduces stress (by focusing on Q2) 5. Supports better work-life balance	1. Simple & visual 2. Balances portfolio (cash generators vs. cash users) 3. Guides investment/divestment decisions 4. Future-oriented planning 5. Encourages growth focus
Drawbacks (5)	1. Subjective classification 2. Time-consuming for beginners 3. Over-simplification of tasks 4. Ignores interdependencies 5. May neglect creative/innovative work	1. Over-simplified (ignores medium cases) 2. Market boundaries unclear 3. Market share ≠ profits 4. Ignores other success factors (brand, innovation) 5. “Dogs” may still be valuable
Information Sought	- Which tasks to do now, plan, delegate, or eliminate - How to prevent tasks from becoming crises - How to balance urgent vs. important work	- Which products/businesses to invest in, hold, or divest - Which generate cash (Cash Cows) - Which require funds (Stars/Questions) - Which drain resources (Dogs)
Best Use Case	Personal or team time management and productivity planning.	Corporate strategic planning and resource allocation for business units/products.

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#priority matrix #blog #blogger #kembarainsan #sabah #sarawak #malaysia #management #mba

Market Entry ; Timing

The choice of market-entry timing is one of the major reasons for new product success or failure (Hopkins & Bailey, 1971; Crawford, 1977; Booz, Allen & Hamilton, 1982).

Where products are being developed for new markets or new market segments, should the organisation be a pioneer and take first-mover advantage, or should it be a follower or even a late entrant?

Market entry timing decisions are not so easy to arrive at. The organisation will need to evaluate the many internal and external conditions affecting it before deciding whether to enter a market with a new product (Lieberman and Montgomery, 1991).

The decision to enter a market should be timed to balance the risks of premature entry (entry that is too early) and the issue of missed opportunities (entry that is too late).

New Products

The first and most fundamental issue that we must clarify is the meaning of “new product”.

Management consultants Booz, Allen and Hamilton (BAH) (1982) argue that a new product can be considered along two dimensions – newness to the market and newness to the company.

Based on these two dimensions, six categories of ‘new products’ can be determined (see Figure 7.1):

Figure 7.1: Categories of New Products
Source: Cooper (2000)

Marrybrown story

The husband and wife team of Lawrence Liew and Nancy Chan are the new names to watch in the international fast food franchising fraternity. Their rapidly growing Marrybrown Fried Chicken system is the first Malaysian fast food company to go international via the franchising system.

The Johor, Malaysia-based company, founded in 1981, now has over 100 company-owned and franchised fast food restaurants in Malaysia, China, Singapore, Brunei, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There are 95 company-owned and franchised outlets throughout the peninsula. Overseas, it has 16 franchises in China, seven in southern India, two in Brunei, three in the UAE and one in Singapore.

The company had also been negotiating with several parties interested in becoming master franchisees in Afghanistan, Australia, Cambodia, Iran, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam. 

According to Liew, the company has laid a five-year programme starting from this year to open franchised outlets in these places. 

"Initially, it is not easy to convince foreigners to take up our master franchisee deal as they always compare us with the US-based fried chicken company," Chan said. But at the same time, she said, they were quite impressed with MarryBrown's overseas expansion programme since 1986 despite having to compete with the fast food giants, especially from the US.

Chan said that sealing the contract for the master franchisee was not just a matter of getting money from the licensee but also included help finding the right location, recruiting frontline staff, logistics, lining up the menu and investigating the existing players in the market. She also went onto say that whenever they were on business trips overseas they would patronise as many fast food joints as they could, in order to see what other players were offering to their customers in terms of pricing and serving portions, and tailor their own offerings accordingly.

COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

Cravens & Piercy (2006, p 339) highlights the purpose of promotion in the marketing programme is “to achieve the company’s communications objectives with each audience”.

The above statement is clear about the communication function. The implication of this is that promotion is the channel through which company/product/brand messages are communicated to the target audience.

Still, promotion is concerned with making sure that customers become aware of the products that the organisation makes available to customers. More precisely, the objectives of any promotional strategy or rather, communications strategy (since the central idea behind it, is to communicate) will be drawn from an appropriate combination of the following; to:

• Inform and educate the target market;
• Persuade customers to consider the company’s offerings;
• Grow sales;
• Maintain or expand market share;
• Develop and enhance brand recognition;
• Reinforce customers that the company’s brands are still good value;
• Create a favourable climate for future sales;
• Produce a competitive advantage, in relation to competitors’ product portfolio or market position; and
• Improve promotional efficiency and effectiveness.

Figure 10.1: An ad that informs prospective customers of the benefit of this 3M product: that the scotch tape is good (i.e. strong) enough for even Spiderman to depend on!

THE ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS MIX

The communications mix is a combination of different communications /promotional channels that is used to communicate a promotional message. This will involve a suitable selection from the range of tools that are available for use as part of the communications mix/promotional mix. The communications mix/promotional mix tools include:

The communication/promotion mix is summarised in Figure 10.2:

Figure 10.2: The Comunication/promotion mix

Effectiveness of methods

• Advertising - becomes less effective over time
• Sales promotion - gives added incentive for buyer action
• Publicity - more effective at awareness stage
• Personal selling - more effective when a more personal relationship is needed
• Direct marketing – also a personalised approach. Bird (1993) describes: “Direct marketing is not a mass-medium; it communicates with consumers as individuals, rather than as a group of segments”
• Internet marketing – a 24/7 availability that crosses borders, besides the fact that this medium is extremely popular in usage.

Typically, organisations will use a combination of these strategies – and the type of strategy that is used, depends on the communication objectives.

Also, the advances in communications technologies have led to more person-to-person contacts – meaning, this has placed a heavy focus on establishing a trusting relationship with the consumer. Hence, the type of communications tools (in this case, the Internet) being favoured by organisations will witness a seismic shift – e.g. Internet marketing is bound to become much more important in this century.

Schultz and Schultz (1998) theorise that marketing as a process has gone through two distinct phases in the past 40 years of so.

The first phase was dominated by manufacturers (production orientation essentially) who were able to dominate markets, or at least to have the strongest influence on them. The second phase was the turn of the retailers, who because they are the closest to the market, decide which products are offered to consumers, and which are not. The third phase is brought about by the growing use of IT by consumers themselves – this means the consumer will dominate the market. This is because the consumer is being empowered – information is freely available and consumers can source any product from any corner of the globe, and therefore they need not be obliged to any selling organisation.

DETERMINING THE COMMUNICATIONS BUDGET

Determining how much to spend on communications activities can be a difficult decision. The common practice would appear to rely on rules of thumb that may have little justification. Judgmental decisions can very easily fall into the trap of personal biasness. The following four popular methods to consider are:

Thus, even if we adopt an objective and task approach, we may start off by looking at what the competition are spending (competitive parity approach) if only to determine what is our likely spend.

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES

The selection of the appropriate strategies will largely depend on the communications objectives in the first place. Frequently, it is about structuring the communications mix to suit the objectives and also to ensure that it can produce the desired outcomes.

Developing effective communications/promotions follows a 5-step process:

Some texts suggest a sixth step – that is, collecting feedback. Feedback includes carrying out market research to find out how effective the message was.

Message and Media Strategy

An effective communication campaign should consist of a well thought out message strategy. What message are you trying to convey to your target audience? How do you intend to deliver this message? Will it be through branding, logos, slogans or imagery? The message should always sell benefits but more importantly, it should also help the company in developing a positioning strategy.

Companies with effective message strategies include:

Figure 10.3: Nike – “Just do it”

Figure 10.4: BMW – “The Ultimate Driving Machine”

Figure 10.5: The cowboy personifies Marlboro

Figure 10.6: The golden arches logo represents McDonald’s

Media strategy, on the other hand, refers to how the organisation is going to deliver their message. Which promotional medium will the company use to deliver their message strategy? Clearly the company must take into account the target audience and also the general characteristics of their target audience before they select their media strategy. What newspapers do their target market read? What TV programmes do they watch? Which radio station do they tune in? Effective targeting of their media campaign could ensure cost-effective promotion.

The Product Life Cycle Strategy

Products go through the four stages of the product life cycle (PLC), and this therefore, requires that different promotional strategies be employed at the different PLC stages to ensure the product’s viability and eventual success.

Stages and promotion strategies employed are as follows (see Figure 10.7):

• Introduction – For a new product, the organisation’s primary objective will be to inform and educate the target audience of its entry and availability. Television, radio, magazines, coupons, cents-off deals, etc may be used to promote the product during this introduction stage of the PLC. (Push and Pull Strategies will be used at this critical stage).
• Growth – As the product gains market acceptance, the organisation at this stage of the lifecycle, works on the strategy of further consolidating and also increasing brand awareness to encourage loyalty.
• Maturity – Given the increased competition, the organisation employs persuasive tactics to push their product to consumers. Any differential advantage will be clearly communicated to the target audience to inform consumers of their benefit over their competitors.
• Decline – As the product reaches the decline stage, the organisation will rely on the strategy of reminding consumers of the product in an attempt to slow down the “inevitable”.

Figure 10.7: Promotion through PLC

The Internet Promotional Strategy

The development of the World Wide Web has changed the business environment forever. The Dot com landscape has changed the way business is done. The e-commerce model promises to deliver a more efficient way of conducting business. Shoppers can now purchase from the comfort of their homes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round and from anywhere in the world.

Owning a website is a now a crucial ingredient to the marketing mix strategy of any organisation. Consumers can now obtain instant information on products or services to guide them in their crucial purchase decision. Sony Japan took pre-orders of their popular Playstation 2 console over the net, which topped 1 million after just a few days, European football stars are now issuing press releases over the web with the sites registered under their own names – and hit rates are phenomenal.

Arnott & Bridgewater (2002) studied the extent to which organisations are capitalising on the interactive potential of the Internet. It is this interactive potential that will spell the difference between success and failure of the technology in marketing terms, for it holds the power to facilitate and develop one-to-one long-term relationships with customers on a global scale. This capability is, as yet, little used – since the primary purpose of the Internet is still used by most people for informational reasons. Transactional functions of the Internet are increasingly becoming common but again, this is not pervasive. Just look at the Malaysian websites. If at all, there is some level of marketing sophistication – the use of relationship marketing – this is currently limited to large multinationals that are serving the global marketplace via the Internet.

Dutta and Segev (1999) reinforce our position that organisations have a long way to go to exploit the potential of the Internet. They divide Internet activity into three stages:

1. Publishing corporate information;
2. Conducting electronic commerce; and
3. Business transformation.

According to their data only around one third of firms have reached the second stage of Internet activity and less than 20 per cent of firms stimulate any interaction, let alone intra-community interactions.

Figure 10.8: The road to online success

The above (Figure 10.8), by no means, represents all the strategies in our arsenal – but that they should be seriously considered when organisations formulate and execute strategies to compete. These strategies complement the generic strategies that will be employed, e.g. a public relations strategy, a sponsorship strategy, an advertising strategy. At the end of the day, if organisations are serious about long-term sustainability in terms of market share and sales, they are useful.  All too often, businesses focus only on the short- to medium-term – granted that if there is no short- or medium-term, there wouldn’t be a long-term. Still, a business must be brave to have a long-term view in this highly-competitive and extremely-crowded marketplace. Many businesses come and go, but only the daring few will last for the long haul. Think:

• The Coca-Cola Company.
• Disney.
• Kraft Foods.
• PepsiCo.
• General Electric.
• Nestle.

Creative Thinking

A way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). Creative thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking.


Ref
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/creative-thinking.

Entrepreneurship Transformation: A New Management Paradigm

As a new management paradigm, entrepreneurship fosters flat organisations which are not constrained by layers and hierarchies, enabling innovative and chaotic ideas, teamwork, consensus decision making and efforts to drive the organisation for superior performance and incentives sharing.

Entrepreneurship: A New Education Paradigm and Thinking Revolution 

􀁸 As a new education paradigm, entrepreneurship employs real cases and brings real entrepreneurs (practitioners) to the classroom and discussions.
􀁸 Entrepreneurship education has created a new educating/ teaching and learning paradigm that enables students to learn differently on both content and methodology which will eventually permeate the classrooms and universities.
􀁸 Educators and teachers are enablers who help students to learn through various modes and engage them in case discussions, project work and interviewing business founders, amongst others.
􀁸 Entrepreneurship beyond business schools demonstrates how curricula development in many business schools penetrate other disciplines such as engineering, medicine, life sciences, and architecture to build entrepreneurs across disciplines.


New Venture Development 

􀁸 Highly entrepreneurial thinkers and doers are responsible in creating the energy effect by becoming change agents or movers and shakers. They bring their entrepreneurial ways of thinking, behaviours and doing their courses, research and institutions. Entrepreneurship: A New Philanthropy Management Paradigm

􀁸 As a new philanthropy management paradigm, entrepreneurship creates a not for profit or social organisation which uses the concepts and principles to conceptualise a new idea and transform into an opportunity, gather resources, raise funds and grow the management team just like any other business entity.

step to new enterprise venture

1. Undertake market research
2. check the statutory requirements
3. access suitable core resources
4. critically evaluate options ; buys , start up or franchise?
5. work out financial projections
6. prepare a business plan

Comparison of options

3 factors influence all business ventures

1. the personal goals, desires, experience and abilities of the owner/entrepreneur.
2. the financial, human and other resources available.
3. the nature of the business opportunity.

Pricing

Price 

A specification of what a seller requires in exchange for transferring ownership or use of a product or service. 

Prices set too low, loss in revenue 

Price set too high, loss in revenue 

Price and demand are related for many goods and services 

 Total Cost

The sum of cost of goods sold, selling expenses, and overhead costs. 

Total Variable Costs 

Costs that vary with the quantity produced or sold. 

Total Fixed Costs 

Costs that remain constant as the quantity product or sold varies. 

Break even analysis for pricing 

A comparison of alternative cost and revenue estimates in order to determine the acceptability of each price. 

Break-even point: the level of sales where all expenses have been met, but no profit has been made. 

Break-even point in units = total fixed costs/[unit sales price – variable cost per unit] 

Pricing system 

Markup Pricing 

Cost plus pricing system that adds a markup percentage to cover: Operating expenses 

Subsequent price reductions 

Desired profit 

Pricing strategy 

1. Penetration

2. Follow the leader

3. Dynamic

4. What the market will bear

5. Liming - facing / lining 

6. Variable

7. Skimming

4 components of a business model

1. Core strategy
Business mission
Product / market scope
Basic for differentiation

2. Strategic resources
Core competencies
Strategic assets

3. Partnership network
Suppliers
Partners
 (JV, network, consortia, strategic alliance, trade associations)

Other key relationships

4. Customer interface
Target customer
Fulfillment and support
Pricing structure